There is kind of a mixed bag of opinions about wa-lolita in the community. Some people really like it, some people think it looks too much like a costume. I do think that wa-lolita is a bit harder for new people to understand, but as long as you do your research you should be fine.

Brown with pink highlights should be fine as long as it matches the oufit! There's a pretty big range of colors involved, I can't think of any particular colors to avoid.